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How Does Nathaniel Hawthorne Use Imagery In The Scarlet Letter

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In 1850, Nathaniel Hawthorne published his most well renown, fictitious novel, The Scarlett Letter. Hawthorne described the adversity Hester Prynne, his main character, encountered as a result of the child she birthed out of wedlock. He alluded to the Puritan views of the colony through their reaction to her affair, and the way they treated both Hester and her daughter, Pearl. Nathaniel Hawthorne demonstrated that the belief in predestination generated a lack of empathy to those labeled as sinners. In this novel, Hawthorne used imagery to foster a pattern that alluded to his (thoughts) on predestination, the Puritan belief in which one's afterlife is decided from birth. One of the first images he utilized occurred after Hester was released
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Additionally, Hester speaks of the scarlet letter in terms that attribute human emotions and qualities to it, which further personifies it. " The Scarlet Letter" was written by Nathanial Hawthorne in 1850. The story revolves

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In The Scarlett Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne creates Hester Prynne, who is affected by the sin resulting in a psychological novel. Hester’s sin of adultery affects her. The Boston community abhors Hester, including the young children who throw mud and rocks towards her. In

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When Hawthorne declares, “the effluence of her mother’s lawless passion,” he is essentially blaming her for her misfortune and saying that her mistakes have led her to where she is; however, he implies that it was inevitable with how uncontainable her personality and passion was. This slightly condemnatory tone towards Hester contradicts the sorrow and criticization towards society that he once had. Hawthorne is experiencing a complexity in his tone. It seems as though he is unsure of where he should stand on this issue. Hawthornes transcendentalist ideas praise individuality, so her

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253 Words | 2 Pages

The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne, conveys many objects and characters that are used as a symbol of a trait or deed, this, in literary terms, is called symbolism. Symbolism allows writers and authors to explicate their works in a more complex way. An example of an object that Nathaniel Hawthorne uses as a symbol in The Scarlet Letter, is simply the scarlet letter A. This letter A was sewn onto one of the characters’ clothing as a symbol of her past. This character’s name was Hester Prynne.

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857 Words | 4 Pages

In this section Hawthorne is showing what Hester should have done and why it led to his negative feelings towards

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Scarlett Letter In the Scarlett Letter a book written by Nathaniel Hawthorne the main focus is about an adulteress, who has to wear a red letter A a.k.a the scarlett letter. So that being said the main character is Hester Prynne. Although she did have to wear the scarlett letter, that is not at all who she was; it didn 't define her. Hester Prynne cheated on her husband when he was said to be lost at sea.

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In The Scarlett Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne, the author, uses symbolism to prove that even in the darkest places, hope can exist and can survive even the gravest of dangers. In the beginning of the story, Hawthorne establishes a barren and desolate mood. Some examples of this are when he describes the clothing of the men and women involved in the story as “sad-coloured garments'' as well as when he speaks about the prison’s “gloomy front.” (Hawthorne 1 -& 13). The “sad-coloured garments” bring forth a desolate mood with no vibrance or visible happiness, along with the prison being described as “gloomy.”

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It runs away and hides itself, because it is afraid of something on your bosom” (Hawthorne 191). This something upon Hester’s bosom is the scarlet letter, which is already interpreted as the outward indication of her past sin. Hawthorne uses “sunshine” to symbolize happiness, purity, and truth. He then uses the symbolic imagery of the light hiding from Hester, to represent her constant denial to forgive herself of her sin and develop as an uncommon member of society. Hawthorne uses this symbolic imagery of darkness to represent concealment and evil, thus validating that one cannot prosper under society’s pressure, so they must dispose themselves from

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Hawthorne uses the dark and light imagery in order to describe sentiments and feelings. Imagery helps the writer to describe, point out a special idea that he wants the reader to get. The color black, and the darker as well, help him to describe a treasure, a secret, a letter, or a trouble of soul. Everything helps him to show the character pain. Mr.Dimmesdale has, throughout the book, bad feelings.

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Set in Puritan Massachusetts during the 17th Century, “The Scarlett Letter” is a tragically powerful book that was written by Nathaniel Hawthorne and published in 1850. Hawthorne, moved and inspired by the transcendentalist movement, wrote this book to criticize the relentless puritan society and tells a tale of sin and punishment and the great wisdom one gains from suffering them, all while narrating the inner conflicts of the human heart. Hawthorne mainly focused on the theme of wisdom through suffering through deep symbolism, allegory, and descriptive emotive language, contrasting how each character’s behavior and thoughts change as the novel progresses signifying the character’s embracing of their sin and dealing with the harsh judgment

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499 Words | 2 Pages

Literary Devices in The Scarlet Letter Literary devices are often used to capture a reader’s attention in a text. Nathaniel Hawthorne used many different types of literary devices in his book The Scarlet Letter. He uses symbolism to give hidden meaning to elements in the story, conflict to make the story interesting, and allusion to make references to historical events (ex. biblical references). While reading The Scarlet Letter, the literary devices did not jump out at me, but now as I reflect upon them they help me understand the book well. Literary devices can make a passage have a whole different meaning.

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502 Words | 3 Pages

The Scarlett Letter is a without a doubt a classic piece of American Literature. It looks at many different aspects of human interactions and how those outcomes can affect people. The character of Hester Prynne is a great example of these ideas in action. Based on the interactions that Hester has over the course of the novel she can be viewed as a strong female character that stood up for her rights and refused to bend no matter the personal cost or she can be viewed as weak female that refused to standup for herself and her daughter and leave a bad situation. Hester can be viewed as a strong woman if you view her through a progressive lens and see her actions as those of a rebellion instead of adherence.

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796 Words | 4 Pages

In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s, The Scarlet Letter, the protagonist, Hester Prynne is a Romantic Hero. Throughout The Scarlet Letter, we see Hester Prynne’s struggle in Colonial America after she is condemned by the Puritan society. She is sent to America by her husband, but he never returns, and Hester later conceives a child with the local minister. She is convicted with the crime of adultery, but refuses to identify the father, she is then forced to wear the Scarlet Letter. The novel captures her experience as she struggles to survive the guilt, sin, and revenge.

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1146 Words | 5 Pages

Nathaniel Hawthorne did not always speak positively toward the Puritans, but he has respect for the group. The main symbol that stands out is the scarlet letter “A” that was stuck on Hester Prynne for her actions of adultery which is a theme for this book. Another symbol is the rose bush that grew right outside of the old, rusty, decaying prison

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1284 Words | 6 Pages

Point #1: Hawthorne effectively establishes a dark and gloomy atmosphere that adopts the conventions pertaining to the gothic genre by highlighting the oppressive nature of the Puritan society. • Use of dark imagery, and prison as a symbol of sin. • Juxtaposition

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